Jan. 11 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Tim Hardaway Jr., Bobby Portis, Cam Thomas, Caris LeVert, Scoot Henderson and More

It was a fairly light slate of NBA games on Thursday night, but several things stood out from a fantasy basketball perspective.

Let’s take a look at some of the top performances from waiver wire options and rookies.

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Waiver Wire Options

Dallas Mavericks Tim Hardaway Jr. went off for 32 points in the team’s win over the New York Knicks. Hardaway made six 3-pointers and also tallied six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Hardaway, who is owned in 56% of leagues right now, recorded his fourth 30+ point game of the season. Dallas was playing without Luka Doncic, so there were more shots and points available. 

Obviously, Doncic being on the court is going to affect Hardaway’s stats on a given night, but Hardaway is still averaging 17.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season, so I’m in favor of adding him if he’s still available in your league. He could be stashed on the end of your bench and played when the team is missing Doncic or others, or you could insert him into your starting lineup and enjoy fairly solid contributions every game.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis recorded 28 points, 12 rebounds and one steal in the team’s blowout win over the Boston Celtics. Portis is being shown as owned in 73% of leagues.

It was Portis’ first game over 10 points since late December, and he hadn’t tallied double digit rebounds since about a week before that. Portis is capable of these kinds of outings, and has now topped 20 points on four occasions, along with having six double-doubles, but he’s been too inconsistent for his own percentage to be any higher. He’s a streaky player, so I’d be in favor of capitalizing on Portis now if you can.

Brooklyn Nets ‘ Cam Thomas finished with 26 points, six rebounds, two assists and one block across 34 minutes played against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. He’s owned in just under 70% of leagues.

Thomas got off to a hot start this season, but lost playing time because he wasn’t contributing much aside from scoring. He had a well-rounded outing on Thursday, which should get him some extra playing time moving forward. You could try waiting another game to see if Thomas continues to play a bunch of minutes, but it might be too late by then. I’d take the gamble on him now, and then simply drop him if the strong play doesn’t continue.

Boston’s Payton Pritchard played 30 minutes during the team’s lopsided loss, finishing with 21 points, four rebounds and assists and one block. He’s owned in about 9% of leagues.

Pritchard is capable of these types of games, but a lack of extended playing time holds him back. He’s a guy to target if a guard on the Celtics is out for an extended period, but for now, I’d probably leave him on the waiver wire.

Cleveland’s Caris LeVert totaled 21 points, three rebounds, two blocks and one assist and steal during the team’s win on Thursday. He’s owned in 77% of leagues.

LeVert has found another gear of late, scoring 20 or more points in five of the past seven games. He’s filled out the stat sheet fairly well over that span too, so I’m all for adding LeVert if he’s still available in your league.

Brooklyn’s Lonnie Walker IV got some extra minutes on Thursday, and he responded with a 20-point outing. He’s owned in just 10% of leagues.

Walker made four 3-pointers and eight shots overall in the contest, while also tallying three rebounds, two assists and one steal and rebound. 

Walker was a solid fantasy asset at the beginning of the season on his scoring alone, and now he appears to be making good progress from his injury, so now is probably the time to add Walker. You could wait to see if he can replicate the outing another time, but this is a guy who has scored in double figures 13 times across 20 games, including six 20+ point outings, so there’s really no reason to believe he won’t be that guy again.

New York’s Donte DiVincenzo accumulated 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals across nearly 30 minutes played. He’s owned in 61% of leagues.

DiVincenzo has now scored in double figures in seven straight games. He’s started 11 straight games, and is now starting to get some extra minutes. He does enough consistently to warrant being a waiver wire add in most leagues.

Los Angeles Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt stuffed the stat sheet with six points, nine rebounds and two assists and steals in the team’s loss to the Phoenix Suns. He’s owned in about 8% of leagues.

Vanderbilt is starting to settle in after missing the first month or so of the season. He’s still yet to reach double digits in points in a game, so until he can do that, he’s probably not going to be a real big fantasy asset outside of deeper leagues.

Milwaukee’s Malik Beasley and Boston’s Sam Hauser produced nearly identical statlines in the team’s Thursday clash. Beasley made four 3-pointers on his way to 16 points, while also tallying four rebounds. Hauser also made four triples while scoring 15 points - he also had four rebounds and a steal.

If you’re comparing the two players together, Beasley is the better fantasy option at this point. He’s owned in 40% of leagues and averaging 11.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. His 3-point shooting has been off the charts this season (47.8%), and as long as he keeps shooting well, he’s going to play plenty of minutes, which makes him a decent fantasy asset.

Hauser, who is owned in 6% of leagues, is averaging 8.6 points and 3.6 rebounds this season. He got some extra minutes on Thursday due to the lopsided nature of the game, but unless a key rotation player or two are out, it’s unlikely he can consistently put up these kinds of numbers.

Top Rookie Performances

There weren't a ton of big rookie performances, but there were a couple that I’d like to mention.

Portland Trail Blazers’ Kris Murray finished with nine points, five rebounds and one steal during the team’s embarrassing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Murray isn’t being shown as owned in many leagues.

Murray is playing a little bit more of late, and has shown to be a decent scorer. If he can continue to average around 10 points and contribute in a few other areas, he’s an option in deeper leagues. He’s also a guy to keep an eye on in dynasty leagues, especially with his brother thriving in Sacramento.

Portland’s Scoot Henderson had a terrible shooting night, but his final line of 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal isn’t too terrible. Henderson, who is owned in 72% of leagues, was 4-of-21 from the field, including 1-of-9 from 3-point land.

Again, his final line wasn't horrible, but he's going to need to pick things up to avoid being dropped in a bunch of leagues.

Duop Reath tallied eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block for Portland. He’s owned in about 34% of leagues.

Reath is serving a pretty big role for Portland right now, but until his points go up, he’s not a big fantasy asset outside of deeper leagues.